Location
London
Event Website
http://www.csce2016.ca/
Description
Many freshwater mussels in the Ontario-Great Lakes Area are considered Species at Risk (SAR) and these are increasingly influencing planning, implementation, and monitoring of infrastructure projects near watercourses. In 2010, the City of London commissioned an on-line Stormwater Management Facility in the Stoney Creek watershed in the form of an Erosion Control Wetland. Design objectives included: creation of additional water storage in the floodplain, prevent erosion in the downstream watercourse, and reclaim natural heritage features lost during infrastructure development. Erosion and sediment controls were applied during construction; however, storm events in December 2011 washed out a section of bank that had separated Stoney Creek from the active construction site. The washout released streambed sediments and mussels, including the previously unrecorded SAR Rainbow mussel, into the work area. An emergency mussel relocation protocol was developed, through a collaboration between applicable agencies, to relocate the mussels during the winter months. Ultimately, 16 of 70 mussels collected during the winter relocations were SAR. The timing of the bank collapse and mussel relocations provided a unique situation where recapture and growth comparisons could be made between mussels relocated in extreme weather conditions to mussels relocated during optimal handling temperatures. The Stoney Creek project demonstrated construction delays and costs associated with SAR mussel discovery. The project highlights the importance of detailed environmental assessments prior to project planning so appropriate mitigation measures and environmental monitoring requirements are implemented during construction.
Included in
TRA-905: ENCOUNTERING RAINBOW MUSSEL, A SPECIES AT RISK, DURING CONSTRUCTION OF A STORMWATER MANAGEMENT FACILITY
London
Many freshwater mussels in the Ontario-Great Lakes Area are considered Species at Risk (SAR) and these are increasingly influencing planning, implementation, and monitoring of infrastructure projects near watercourses. In 2010, the City of London commissioned an on-line Stormwater Management Facility in the Stoney Creek watershed in the form of an Erosion Control Wetland. Design objectives included: creation of additional water storage in the floodplain, prevent erosion in the downstream watercourse, and reclaim natural heritage features lost during infrastructure development. Erosion and sediment controls were applied during construction; however, storm events in December 2011 washed out a section of bank that had separated Stoney Creek from the active construction site. The washout released streambed sediments and mussels, including the previously unrecorded SAR Rainbow mussel, into the work area. An emergency mussel relocation protocol was developed, through a collaboration between applicable agencies, to relocate the mussels during the winter months. Ultimately, 16 of 70 mussels collected during the winter relocations were SAR. The timing of the bank collapse and mussel relocations provided a unique situation where recapture and growth comparisons could be made between mussels relocated in extreme weather conditions to mussels relocated during optimal handling temperatures. The Stoney Creek project demonstrated construction delays and costs associated with SAR mussel discovery. The project highlights the importance of detailed environmental assessments prior to project planning so appropriate mitigation measures and environmental monitoring requirements are implemented during construction.
https://ir.lib.uwo.ca/csce2016/London/Transportation/3
